Some gorgeous things, especially being alive

I see by my stats that you lovely people keep checking in for my posts, even though there's often a week between them. Thank you! And I'm sorry it's not more often. A few months ago I decided I had to start being strict with going to be early, because I need lots of sleep. I've pretty much stuck to it, but it's not good for the blog.

In my last post I said I'd write about the best seed varieties I've discovered, and I will. But not today.

I've been swept away recently by people who produce beautiful, creative things. Here are some of them:

The bags are stocked by Mixt Art+Design. Who on earth, I wonder, has the imagination and skill to make such clever, gorgeous things? It is this Aucklander, Estelle of Brighton.

I saw this Florence Broadhurst cushion on the blog of es design in Wellington. They are the funkiest retro interior designers I know of in New Zealand. Do you care for this chair they upholstered?

Also, see below this dress from Quirky Birds Boutique:

But now I come to what has most thoroughly swept me away recently. And it's not this bike, although it's easily the most beautiful bike I've ever seen.

It was hand made by Ezra Caldwell, a 39 year old from New York City who's dying of rectal cancer. He writes about the dying, and his passion for life, in his blog. He's living, he says, in the midst of a creative fire, although he might be dead in a month. He writes about it candidly, vividly and optimistically, and he writes really, really well. He's also a photographer and sells his photographs through his blog.

So that's it, really, the driving force of this post. Ezra Caldwell, living well, creating lots of different kinds of beauty, and making the most of every second he has.